Disclaimer: I own nothing...

A/N: So life isn't easy for our pair eh? Don't expect it to pick up =P LOL Enjoy and thank you!

Short and sweet because my energy level is nearly empty!

Final note – I expect one reaction over one character from you all ;) Lets see if we have a majority vote in time for tomorrow's update ;)

Beauty and the Beast – Chapter Ten

"She's right," Christian began to speak, more so to himself, as he paced the waiting room. "She's completely right. How is it fair that she is going through this? How is any of this fucking fair?" He felt like a crazed man and he guessed to the other seven people in the room with him he looked it as well. All the voices in his head – the snide ones, the comforting ones – were all there for one reason. His torture.

"Christian," Carrick stepped in, trying to stop his son. "You need to take a seat and wait for news."

"We don't know what's wrong with her," Christian gave his father a look full of wide eyes and tears and felt like he was the little boy he and Grace had brought home years ago. "She was fine and then she was having problems with keeping her eyes open and breathing. What's wrong with her dad? What else is she going to be put through?"

Carrick had no words; he just wrapped his arms around his son and gave him a moment to weaken in the arms of support. He didn't care if it was happening in small doses, Christian needed it. Or at least until Ana was more accepting of people seeing her. When he felt Christian weaken his hold on his body, Carrick pushed Christian back to a chair and got him sitting.

"She's going to be okay. Do you think your mother would let anything less than that be the outcome?" Carrick asked keeping faith in Grace's ability alive. "Ana's body has suffered a great deal and she's only been out of surgery a few hours. There aren't any magical cures. We need to understand that."

"I wished we never had lied," Christian sighed and then fell forward so his elbows were to his knees and he was staring down at the worn linoleum of the room they were trapped in.

"I bet you manipulated her into lying," Kate sneered from her side of the room, her eyes sending a death glare at Christian. "She would never willingly go along with this."

Christian could feel a headache beginning to rise in the lower part of his skull just waiting to scream across the entire circumference of his head like a tight band. Ana knew he got headaches when he was most stressed. Ana also knew how to get rid of them – lots tender loving care and a massage. Except Ana wasn't here to do such a thing. Ana's health had declined so much that her mother had screamed for help before ordering everyone to be removed from the room.

"I knew she had changed but, she has never been someone to deceive," Kate continued to leer as if Christian wasn't present or important. "Did you not guess anything?" She turned on Elliot, "You spend enough time at Escala, god you and your brother live out of each other's pockets."

"I had an inkling," Elliot admitted and put his hands up to stop a barricade of attacks especially as Christian looked at him in distressed astonishment. "Look, okay, it wasn't enough for me to pry, Kate. My brother has a right to privacy as does Ana. They were happy, that's all that matters."

"That's all that matters?" Kate asked her boyfriend and laughed acerbically over that claim, "What matters is that she's fucking disfigured because of him!"

"That's not fucking true!" Elliot argued back at his girlfriend, "It was a decision made mutually between the pair so back up and shut up. He didn't attack her and do you really think Ana would want us all out here arguing?"

"Well I don't think that matters right now seeing as she can't step in and feed some bullshitted lie to stop us!" Kate shouted back at Elliot, and it was as though she was near on breaking point herself. The tension she had been feeling since getting the care early hours of the morning was only weakening and readying to snap. "No, she won't be out here feeding us more lies because she's currently in the ICU after being horrifically attacked! So not only have her lies caught up to her but, she seems to be prevented from making more up," the moment the sentence ended, Kate regretted it.

"Enough!" Elliot bellowed and stood up so he was towering over Kate. He didn't want to be domineering to her but; sometimes she just needed knocking down a touch or tow. "Ana and Christian are old enough to make these decisions, Kate, accept that. If they wanted to keep their relationship a secret so be it but, it's out in the open now and we have a friend who needs us. Fuck, my brother needs up and you just want to sit there picking holes. We are all in this together so stop acting like a spoilt bitch like you were the only one not told." He took a few breaths, "How do you think my mom felt working on Ana only to learn she was in love with her son?"

Kate blinked a few times in shock and shame but, she didn't spoke.

"And you think you found out worse? My mother had to save Ana's life because if she died then we'd all be finding out that not only was Christian dating someone but, she was dead. So stop feeling hard up and get over it. Ana's forceful enough with her decisions and if this makes them happy then so be it," Elliot was literally heaving with his emotional outburst, "The past is the past. So you need to get over it and accept everything's that happened and look after our friend."

"Okay," Kate spoke lowly, not meeting anyone's eye contact as she sat feeling like a told off school girl. "You're right."

"It's not all about you," Elliot muttered and dropped back to his seat and looked to his brother. He said nothing else, just gave him a supportive smile but, he could see it wasn't enough. He had never seen his brother look so lost in his life. He looked away just as the doors to the ICU opened and his mother ran out. Like Christian and Ana's parents, he was one of the first on his feet.

"What happened?" Ray begged, not caring who asked first. He just needed to know.

"She's resting again," Grace told them reassuringly and calmly.

"What happened?" Christian asked the same question again, his voice flexing with tension and strain.

"Her blood pressure rocketed that's all," Grace told them and let out a breath as she smiled. "This is what I've been worried about. The wound on her neck is a lot more serious than we first thought and when her blood pressure easily spiked her body begins to react negatively. With medical intervention she is calmer and her blood pressure is near normal." She didn't wait long enough for people to question further, she just ploughed on with the detail, "Right now we have given Ana a stronger dose of morphine and sedatives to help her sleep and keep her body relaxed. She's gotten too worked up over the past few hours when she really should be resting. I decided to make an executive decision to sedate her so her body can recuperate for a few hours."

"You sedated her?" Christian asked, his eyes opening wide on him. "So we can't see her?"

"I'd say now is the best time to see her," Grace told them and looked to Carla and Ray. "You can sit with her if you want. Ana won't need to constant watching this time if you do. We won't have to worry about her blood pressure spiking if she gets agitated. I know it's not a nice way to see your daughter but, for now it's the only option we can give."

"I'd like that," Carla said and looked to Ray who agreed. "But I need to know something."

"Of course," Grace agreed with politeness. "I'm here to help as much as I can."

"Why is she so okay with you being around?" Carla asked and she saw Grace stricken by the question. It wasn't rudeness, it was wonderment. Why did her daughter want another woman and not her own mother?

Grace released a careful, gradual sigh. This was a tough one but, Grace could only be honest. "Right now, she's found an attachment with me that she can't find with anyone else. Once the shock on her mind and body dies down she will think more rationally. I was there from basically the start from. She knew my reaction to it but, with everyone else, it's like she's waiting to be judged." She took a breather before continuing on, "When she came in, I was the one that actually attended to her emotional needs. I had a colleague working on her physical wounds but, I know from my experience as a trauma doctor that the emotional welfare of a patient is just as important as anything else. It all coincides. Not only that but, she told me she recognised me as Christian's mother from photos she had seen so I was familiar to her in some sense when she needed some familiarity. I know from patient feedback the emergency department is one of the scariest places when you are in such a medical state like Ana was."

"In that case, thank you for being there for her," Ray appreciated and realised that Grace was more than a doctor right now. She was a Godsend.

"It's no problem," Grace smiled. "I think there will be a delay on getting Ana to speak to psychiatrist. At first I thought it was for the best to get her to talk but, now I understand that her body can't cope with the way she becomes." She looked to Christian, making him become alert with her impending request. "Christian, I understand wholly if you want to get John in to aid Ana's psychological therapy but, we have a very good therapist here who I'd highly recommend."

"I'll call him," Christian agreed.

"Okay," Grace breathed, "I really need to go and get some fresh air. It's been a long shift but, I have the nurses on alert to contact me if there are any changes. One of them will come down when they can to take you to Ana." She waited for everyone to disperse again before she turned to walk away.

Carrick stood watching his wife, and as she came over to him, he smiled at her, "I'm proud of you."

"Just doing my job," she scoffed never seeing the praise in her work as necessary. She did her job to help others not for self accomplishment. "I need some food, come with me? I need some space."

"Sure," he replied to her and took her hand before leading her from the waiting room. He said nothing as he walked with her and he knew she had everything set up in case Ana needed him.

"This is not how I expected my shift to go," Grace told him with a mirthless laugh. "Christian has a girl that really loves him." It was the only thought on her mind, the only reason Ana got so worked up was because of her love for Christian. It was what ruled her, powered her, failed her right now.

She took one last look at her family and Ana's before allowing her husband to just occupy her mind for second.

Watching Grace leave, Taylor stepped up closer to Christian, "I think it's time we got you home for a shower and food. I can have Gail prepare something. You need some rest."

"I'm not going home," Christian defied his lead guards demand. "I don't care how long I have to wait I am not leaving the hospital for a second." He threaded his fingers into his hair and pushed them back, "I will leave here when I can take Ana with me."

"Christian," Carla spoke up, "We don't know when that will be. She wouldn't want us running ourselves into the ground. She would want us to carry on with life."

He looked to a woman he always imagined meeting, "I can't do that. I can't carry on with life with her in a hospital bed. It won't happen," he stared at Carla and took a deep breath. "I can't function without Ana. I know she's still here but, the thought of her in a hospital bed is paralysing. I can't leave."

"Is this what Ana would want for you though?" Taylor asked, snipping deliberately for an answer.

"No," he admitted and dropped his head to the floor. "It isn't but, I can't leave. I know she hates people worrying but, I'm not just any person. I love her and she needs to know that. She needs to see that. She needs to know how sorry I am." His final part of that summation came out juddering as his sobs gripped at his throat.

And the last person he expected to hold onto him was Carla but, he gave into the hold and strangely he felt like it were Ana clinging onto him. The two women gave such similar hugs that Christian found a dose of solace.

"You do know she knows you love her?" Carla asked giving him a squeeze before pushing away. "She's always known that. I even knew that from the way she said your name." She gave a smile, "But for now, help her how you know you can," Carla told him simply. "She needs support wherever we can get it. That's it."

His mother was right and so was Carla, she needed Flynn and he had the utmost trust in that man. After years of putting trust into one man to help him conquer fears and battles, Christian knew he could help Ana the most. Finally getting the courage to ring Flynn, his phone rang. Not recognising the number and no caring for manners, Christian answered the call, "What?"

"Now, now, Christian, darling, that's no way to talk to me," the voice near enough sang down the phone, "Especially when I have the exclusive on Anastasia Steele's current medical condition. I'm sure everyone will just eat up how Seattle's mega-millionaire has been living a double life and is now cooped up in a Seattle hospital standing vigil," The voice bitched down the phone with merriment, "I mean, the tabloids would snap up that world exclusive."

Christian's eyes grew wide. Kaitlyn!